Like the real mountain, this movie is stunning to look at but a little painful to watch. I kept longing for the voice-over guy from The Deadliest Catch to chime in with some compelling back story about the characters or the situation, just to ramp up the tension a little. We don't get much time to get to know the characters; most of their lines are designed mainly to give us information rather than developing their individual personalities. We are left with archetypes: the Loudmouth Texan, the Humble Mailman, the Brash Adventurer, the Careful Tour Guide, the Taciturn Journalist. And then there's the annoying Keira Knightly, on hand with her squeaky mouse voice and her runny nose, to make sure everyone in the audience has a good cry.
I wish the movie had been more about Rob Hall--his hubris and his heroism is really the heart and soul of this story. But you can't have everything in two hours, can you?
